No more sales to the UK under $180 [135pounds]

The UK is now requiring any seller that ships anything under 135 pounds into the UK to register for a VAT number and then collect UK's 20% VAT, and then file and pay that VAT to the UK quarterly. Not only that, but you have to keep track of exchange rates to know exactly how much 135pounds is in your currency!

Can you imagine if every country in the world did this?! What idiot in parliament came up with this ridiculous scheme to put the VAT burden on the exporter instead of where it's always been, on any countries own Customs. They also took away the exemption on any goods under 20 pounds being VAT free.

Anybody think I'm registering for a UV VAT ID?

It's all to do with Brexit.
The UK is suffering a (hopefully temporary) mental breakdown..
Hopefully we'll come to our senses soon. But given the limited abilities of those in charge I'm not holding my breath. 😉

(All further comments on the matter pre-emptively self redacted as politics isn't what makes jemsite great)

My apologies, I wasn't considering it as political commentary, but now I realize that's what it is, sorta.

I knew it was all about Brexit, but this is just going to create a whole lot of sellers that will say, UK? No way. Unless it's over $200.

I would love to offer my insight on this, but yes, extremely political so outside the rules.

(but yes, the UK has done something incredibly stupid based on some complete lies by various public figures)

At the risk of venturing into political comments myself but trying to stick to the economics of things, I think this is part of the ‘taking back control’ in that it now discourages overseas transactions and encourages domestic ones.

I’ve helped several companies close their UK operations and move over to mainland Europe simply because outside of the EU, the UK is not a big enough market to make it worth their while.

You weren't being political. No need to apologise. You're the innocent victim!

If I went any further into why we're in this ridiculous situation I would've ventured into highly political territory so I thought best to cut short what I really would've wanted to say.

Short version. Current uk position is utterly mad. But largely hidden from public view by Covid. But it is likely to explode as all sorts of retailers large and small are getting caught by this chaos and are not happy. Many voting with their feet and setting up non UK operations. Lots of smaller retailers stopping shipping to UK consumers...

I haven't posted here for a loooooong time (I nearly got involved in Fowleri's tech questions but resisted ) but I wanted to chip in.

The whole import/brexit thing is massively depressing and I would like to say more but don't want to venture into the politics. It really really sucks though I just hope at some point it can be reversed/undone or fixed somehow. It's seriously embarrassing how utterly stupid this country now appears to the rest of the world.

Thomann wrote a nice guide to sales to the UK covering similar points. I am very glad I bought an amp & guitar from them just before it all kicked in.

I guess smaller items and spares are going to be tricky to get hold of now.

Mmm, in such an economically globalized world as we're in these days, playing isolationist is just going to hurt, especially when you don't have anything particular of your own to fall back on, such as industry or natural resources. Services can be done just about anywhere, and you'd be out-competed by places who can do it more cheaply/efficiently. This was easier in the past – e.g. in Australia from the end of WW II to the 70s, tariffs on imports were quite substantial, while on home products they weren't, so local industries benefited a good deal: they were effectively protected, able to develop their products and command portions of the market. But production/consumption dynamics and economic philosophies have changed globally since that time, so this concept doesn't apply so much.

Moreover, there are so many regulations and interconnections governing trade, movement of goods, and so on, that reconfiguring them and/or making new ones which will work is a massive task that takes years (as an example, the Canada-EU trade deal which came into effect in some years ago took six years to negotiate).

So, for us pickers what does this mean? If you want parts and hardware, better save up for a lathe/milling machine *puts on Priest's 'British Steel'* .

Rich, do you get many orders from the UK? As you've raised this discussion, I imagine you do get a consistent number.

I got my Thomann order of studio bits in in December before this madness kicked in... It's frustrating!